Upright Brewing

Upright Brewing
by Don Fox

My trip to visit Alex Ganum, owner and Brewmaster of Upright, took me to the basement of the historical Hazelwood/Leftbank Building. It’s a recently renovated, giant old-fashioned warehouse in downtown Portland. When I arrived around 10AM, Alex asked me, “Are you against drinking this early?”

This was the best joke I heard on my trip.

During our visit we tried such beers as Upright Oyster Stout, which has all the great usual tastes of a stout with a nice, creamy, minerality twist... taste the oysters. Upright Fourplay a take on the saison Four, is aged in La Bete Pinot Noir barrels with Oregon cherries. Pink in color, light in body, and tart, with the flavor characteristic of earthiness, cherries and funk.

Upright specializes in a niche hybrid Belgian-American farmhouse style. In addition to the brewing facility, Upright has a small-sized tasting room with a very mellow atmosphere; they somehow make it feel like you're spinning records and drinking beers in a friend’s basement. Alex was very generous, and opened up the brewery on a day that they were closed to the public. He invited us to hang out for a few hours to discuss his brewing method and try his beers, and we obliged. 

The brew room’s design is pretty straightforward, intended to make the most of its capacity while still doing everything by hand and staying small-batch. The entire staff at the brewery can be counted on one hand and it’s very easy to see that lots of hard work and time goes into their process. They intend to keep their current situation without expanding past their 1200 barrel-a-year capacity so they can stay focused on both creativity and quality. The fact that Upright purposely brews small batch, artisanal-style beer lets them embrace variations and inconsistencies as they experiment with every batch they brew. Due to the brewing method and their bottle conditioning process, sometimes their beer will taste better after one month in the bottle, and at other times it will hit a sweet spot after three months or more in the bottle. The reality is, no matter how or when you enjoy their beer, it will be amazing.

 

Below is a list of Upright saisons that can be found at Hi-Time with year-round availability. 

 

Upright Four  $9.97 [471968] 750ml

Truly a light yet flavorful beer. The recipe uses a good portion of wheat and incorporates a sour mash into the process to make it slightly tart and extra refreshing. It has delicate aromas and flavors that span a range of floral, grassy and herbal notes. The finish is extra dry and makes the beer a great beverage to pair with food, especially various cheeses and shellfish.

Malts: organic pale, organic wheat, organic munich
Unmalted: rolled wheat
Hops: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
4.5% abv

Upright Five $9.97 [471966] 750ml

 A farmhouse pale ale that was born after enjoying a few small production European brews that use a heavy hand of hops. This one blends several Mt. Angel grown varieties to create a deep and complex flavor with an underlying earthiness. Pale fruit aromas created during the fermentation brighten the profile and bring the beer balance. 

Malts: organic pale,organic caramel
Unmalted: rolled barley
Hops: Willamette, Liberty, Perle
5.5% abv 

 

Upright Six $9.97 [471967] 750ml

This is a dark rye beer with layered flavors including chocolate, caramel, pepper, wood, cherry and tropical fruit. It starts semi-dry and smooth and finishes fully dry and tart with a small bite from the hops. The overall balance of the Six makes it easy to pair with richly prepared meats along with many harder cheeses.

Malts: organic pale, caramel, rye, black

Unmalted: rolled rye
Hops: Magnum, Tettnanger
6.7% abv